Archer&#39;s sight



March 1 B. E. FREDRICKSON 2,545,454

' ARCHERS SIGHT Filed Oct. 31, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN V EN TOR.

.56 W .45? Heir/chum ATTOR/VEVJ March 20, 1951 Filed Oct. 31, 1947 IN V EN TOR.

ATTORNEYS Mia/Mm l f A Patented Mar. 20,4951 4 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ARCHERS SIGHT Bert E. Fredrickson, Green Bay, Wis.

Application October 31, 1947,, Serial No. 783,339

8 Claims.

My. invention relates to sights for archersbows, and more particularly to such sights asare adapted to be mounted on, a long bow to improve, the

accuracy of the archer.

normal position of head or eyes to compensate for the increased or decreased angle ofjthe bow.

A further, object of. the, invention is to provide an improved sight, for long bows which includes novelsighting means and areticle.

A further object is to provide an improved sight for long bows which. includes a novel combination of sighting means and a reticle with novel means for adjusting said sight vertically for varying ranges and simultaneously imparting a tilt to the sight to compensate for the resultant variance in the angles of the bow.

A further object is to provide an improved sight for long bows which is adjustable vertically on the bow for varying ranges and simultaneously tiltable to compensate for the resultant variancein the, angles of the bow, and a single. means for simultaneously adjusting and tilting the sight. X Other objects and advantages reside in the particular structure of the invention, combination and arrangement of the several parts thereof; and in the particular mode of operation, all of which will be, readily apparent to those skilled in the art upon reference to the attached drawings in connection with the following specification, wherein the invention is. shown, described and. claimed.

In the drawings:

Figure I is an elevation of a preferred form of the sight, a long bow being. shown fragmentarily in elevation;

Figure 2 is a front view of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a longitudinal vertical section taken substantially on the plane of the line 33 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a longitudinal verticalsection taken substantially on the plane of the line 4'4 of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a horizontal section taken substantially on the planes of the line 5-5 of Figure 1;

Figure 6 is a longitudinal vertical section through the base takensubstantially on the plane of the line 6-6 of Figure Figure 7 is a fragmentaryv rear end View of a detail of the invention;

Figure 8 is an elevation like Figure 1, but taken from the opposite side of the device;

Figure 9 is an enlarged fragmentary longitudinal section showing a detail;

Figure 10 is a plan view of the sight. apart from the rest of the structure.

Referringspecifieally to the drawings, wherein like. reference characters have been used throughout to designate like. parts, Ill designates, a long bow of any suitable or usual' form having a hand grip l I intermediate the ends thereof. The sight according to my invention comprises generall'y'a mount i2. and a sight, base i3 vertically andtiltably adjustable relative to the mount.

29 and 30. Each spur gear is adjacent the inner Referringfirstto the mount l2, the same. com-. prises a, collar member of generally rectangular shape having, a rear wall [4, side walls 15 and iii, and a front wall ll. Such collar is adapted to fit substantially loosely over the bow i0 and is adapted to be clamped thereto by any suitable clamp means, such as the clamps, I8 and 19 which adjustably clamp the rear and one side of the bow in and which are actuated by any suitable adjustable clamping means, such as the machine screws 2il-which are extended respectively through the rear wall it and: side wall It. Thecoll'ar aforesaid is intended to be mounted on the bow, as shown, a short distance above the hand' grip H. Obviously, the collar is adjustable, longitudinally of the bow Iii to fit the individual archer, and thereafter requires no further adjustment.

Thefront wall I? of the, mount l2- comprises a rear wall for a housing 2'! in which is mounted the actuating means for adjusting the sight. The. housing 21 is substantially rectangular and me cludes side walls 22 and 24, a top wall 23 and a forward wall 84. A shaft 25 is journaled between the side walls 22 and 24', and one end 25 is preferably of non-circular configuration and extends outwardly of the side wall 22 for a. purpose to be described. A sight-setting dial 26 is fixed on the outer surface of the side wall 22 and the shaft 25 extends therethrough with the squared end 25 axially outwardly thereof: A pointer 21 is fixed on the shaft end 25' and indi cates the setting of the sight by means of appropriate indicia formed and inscribed on the. sur-' face of the dial 26. A stop 28 at one extremity of the series of indicia serves to engage the pointer 21 and limit rotation of the same in both directions.

The shaft 25- has fixed thereon for rotation therewith a pair of laterally-spaced spur gearssurface of one of the walls 22 and 24 of the housing 2i. The spur gears 29 and 30 are of unequal ratios for a purpose to be described later. For instance, the spur gear 35 may be of 32 pitch and have 26 teeth. In like manner, the spur gear 25 may be of 32 pitch and have 22 teeth. The shaft 25 also has fixed thereon for rotation therewith a ratchet gear 3| which in the form shown is intermediate the gears 29 and 35 and spaced therefrom.

A ratchet lever 32 is formed with a pair of bifurcated legs 33 at one end thereof which are journaled to the shaft 25 on either side of the ratchet gear 3!. The leve 32 is preferably of tubular or channel configuration. Referring specifically to Figure 9, the legs 33 of the ratchet lever have journaled therebetween by a suitable pin 37 a double-arm pawl 35. A pawl-actuating slide 35 is slidable within the channel portion 34 of the ratchet lever 32. A bell crank 39 is" also journaled between the legs 33 by a suitable pin 40. The bell crank 39 is formed with arms 4| and 42 and the arm 42 thereof has pivoted thereto one end of a link 43, the other end of which is fixed to the slide 35. The slide 35 may be formed with a knurled boss 44 to facilitate the actuation thereof. The pawl 35 is formed with a hollow stem 38 which receives one end of a pin 45 which is headed at the other end to provide a seat for a coil spring 45. The other end of the coil spring 46 seats around the stem 38 against the pawl 36. The free end of the head of the pin 45 is selectively seatable on one of the arms 4| or 42 of the bell crank 39 and comprises means of shifting or reversing the pawl 36. As shown in Figure 9, the slide 35 has been slid toward the ratchet gear 3 l whereby the head of the pin 45 is seated on the bell crank arm 4|. In this position, when the lever 32 is moved in a counter-clockwise direction, the ratchet gear 3! will be likewise moved in a counter-clockwise direction. However, when the slide 35 is slid downwardly, Figure 9, the link 43 will pull the bell crank 39 to the Figure 1 position, whereby the headed stem 45 is shifted to the bell crank arm 42, whereby to engage the opposite tooth of the pawl 35 with the ratchet gear 3!. In this position, movement of the lever 32 in a clockwise direction will drive the ratchet gear 3! in a clockwise direction. To effect the movement of the gear 31 in either direction, it is merely necessary to impart a limited rotary movement to the lever 32, whereupon the pawl 35 is brought out of engagement with the gear 3! and the lever 32 returned to its original position. The pawl 35 is then brought into engagement with the gear 31, and the lever 32 is once again moved through its path of rotary movement.

A pair of laterally-spaced racks 48 and 4'? are vertically slidable in the housing 2i in slideways 49. Both of the racks are of a like pitch, as the gears 29 and 35, and are in mesh therewith. In view of the fact that the gear 35 has more teeth than the gear 25, it is obvious that, as the shaft 25 is rotated one complete revolution, the rack 41 in mesh with the gear 35 will be projected further upwardly or downwardly than is the rack 48 which is in mesh with the smaller gear 29. Thus, to raise or lower the sight per se, to be described later, it is only necessary to shift the slide 35 to an appropriate position in the lever 32 and swing the lever forwardly and backwardly to rotate the shaft 25. If desired, the spring 99 may be secured to the rear wall I? of the housing 2! with its free end in engagement with the lever 32 to load the latter to a forward position.

The upper end of the rack 41 is formed with an integral extension 50 having a free end 52 which is pivoted in-the forward end of the sight base I3. In like manner, the upper end of the rack 48 is provided with an integral extension 5| having a free end 53 which is pivoted to the rear end of the sight base l3. Thus, as the acks 41 and 48 are extended in vertical directions, they carry with them the base l3, while at the same time, by virtue of the unequal projection of the racks, the base [3 will be tilted for a purpose to be described later. In this connection, it is noted that inasmuch as the smaller gear 29 and rack 48 are connected to the rear end of the base l3, the rear end will move vertically in both directions to a smaller degree than will the front end of the base.

The sight base l3 comprises a base portion 54 in which the ends 52 and 53 of the rack extensions 50 and 5| are journaled. The base portion 54 is provided with a central longitudinallyextending recess 56. The free end 53 of the rack extension 5| is journaled across the rear end of such recess 56 and such free end 53 has fixed thereon for rotation therewith by any suitable means, such as the pin 58, a lug 51. The lug 51 has fixed therein in any suitable manner one end of an arm 59. The opposite end of the arm 59 is upwardly offset for a purpose to be described later. Thus, as the free end 53 is rotated relative to the base portion 54, th arm 59 and the free end 53 thereof will be swung vertically relative to the base portion 54. The forward end of the base portion 54 has fixed thereon intermediate the sides thereof an upstanding pin 6 I A sight bar 55 is seated atop the base portion 54 and pivoted thereto by a vertical pivot of any suitable character, such as the thumb screw 62. The under surface of the sight bar 55 is suitably recessed, as at 63 and 64, to receive the offset free end 65 of the arm 59 and the pin 6|, respectively. The sight bar 55 in the region of the recess 64 is provided with transversely inwardly-extending threaded bolts or the like 65, Figure 2, the inner ends of which are adapted to bear against the pin 6! to provide means for moving the front end of the Sight laterally on the pivot 62. The sight bar 55 has fixed therein between the recesses 64 and 63 a longitudinally-extending pivot pin 56 which freely mounts a base of a pointer 61 for a dial 68. The free end 60 of the arm 55 is journaled in the base portion of the pointer 6? laterally of the pivot 66, Figure 10. Thus, as the arm 55 is raised or lowered, the pointer 5'! is swung about its pivot 66. The forward face of the dial is formed and inscribed with suitable sightsetting indicia which are arranged as mirror writing, whereby a reflection of the indicia will read as normal indicia from left to right. Accordingly th archer can correlate the various positions of the arm 55 as it is raised or lowered with a corresponding one of the numerical indicia forming the dial 68.

Forwardly of the dial 68, the sight bar 55 carries a substantially vertically-extending front sight 69 which includes a partially transparent reflector 15. The partially transparent reflector 15 may be slightly concavo-convex with the concave surface thereof facing rearwardly, whereby to slightly enlarg any reflections in such partially transparent relector. Moreover, the partially transparent reflector "I0, while transparent, is preferably slightly tinted or coated, whereby to have slight reflecting characteristics.

zontal arm of the cross-hair 11' on either side of the-vertical arm-thereof. As' is seen in Figure '7, whenthe archer-looks throughthe front sight reflector 19, he will see faintly reflected therein the reticle indicia is; H and 18, which are reflected forwardly off of the rear face of the prism 12. The archer will also see a reflection of the dial 6B and indicator hand 6-? therefor. It should be noted at this time that the front sight (is and the reticle means 1 I do not preferably extend exactly vertically from the sight bar 55-. As is clearly shown in Figure 1, both the front sight 69- and the front face 14' of the prism 12 areinclined-rearwardly slightly froma right angle with the upper surface ofthe" sight bar 55-. This is necessary in the front sight to provide an angle of reflection with the rear surface of the front sight 69 equal to an angle of incidence aligned with the archers eye and in the prism to project thereflected rays through the front face M thereof at an angle thereto. In this connection it should be noted that the reticle is located on the principal point of focus of the partially transparent reflector Hi whereby a sharply focused reflection is seen by the archer at all times in the normal use of the'device.

The front sight and reticle 69 and H are used as follows: The archer centers the reflection of one of thereticle indicia 16,17, or E8 in the front reflector H3. To facilitate this, thefront reflector may be provided with cross-hairs, not shown. The purpose of having a plurality of reticle indicia is to permit the archer to make rapid compensations in a given sight setting without pausing to re-set the sight. This is particularly important' when the archer is actually hunting game with a bow and arrow. Thus, a dot it, when centered in the front reflector Hi; may indicate a range corresponding to the setting of the hand 81 on dial 6B. Inlike manner, the cross-hair H, which may be simultaneously seen in the reflector it, may indicate when centered in the partially transparent reflector Wan increased range of say thirty or forty yards. Thedots 18 indicate lateral leads for the cross-hair T! when either of those dots is centered in the reflector l0. Such lateral leads are particularly important when the archer wishes to allow for wind, or when shooting at running game, and will be readily understood by those skilled in the art.

An important feature of the invention comprises the provision whereby as the sight base 13 is adjusted vertically relative to the bow, it is tilted simultaneously. It is important in archery that the nook, or rear end of the arrow, be held at the same point prior to a shot. This point is usually just beneath the chin of the archer. However,

as the bow is raised to increase the range, there.

is an obvious tendency to tilt the head back wardly, and if a sight is not tiltable, at extreme ranges, it will be impossible to view the target through the sight. In the sight disclosed, as range is increased, the sight bar is lowered along the bow I0, and. at the same time the front end is tilted downwardly so that it maintains a substantiallyhorizontal position irrespective of whether the bow: is tilted upwardly or downwardly Thus, the sightwill remains aligned with the target irrespective of the elevation or depression utilized: in sighting. Moreover, this tilting. provision of the sight permits thearcher to. sight through it without craning his neck or otherwise moving his head from its accustomed position. Obviously, this provision of the sight. makes for extremely greater accuracy in shooting by permitting uniformity ofsighting and shooting. actionsof' the archer irrespective of. the. range.

While I have shown and: described what-"is now thought to be apreferred embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that. the same issusceptible of other forms and expressions. Consequently, I do not limit myself to the precise structure shown and described hereinabove except as hereinafter claimed.

I claim:

1.. A sight for an archers' bow, comprising-an elongated base having a front and a rear end, means fOr attaching said base to said how transversely thereof, a front sight carried by said front end of said base, reticle means carried by said-rear end of said base, said means for attaching said base tosaid bow including separate horizontallydisposed pivot means mounting said front and rear ends of said base, means for adjusting said base, said last-named means comprising a single adjusting means for adjusting said base vertically and simultaneously tilting said base on said pivot means, said front sight comprising a substantially vertically-disposed partially transparent reflector, and means for reflecting an image of said reticle onto saidreflector, a sight-setting indicator carried by said base between. said front sight and said reticle, and means operatively coupling said indicator tov said adjusting means whereby to actuate said indicator simultaneously with the vertical adjustment of said base.

2. A sight for an archers bow, comprising. an elongated base having a front and a rear end, means for attaching said base to. said bow trans versely thereof, front sight carried by said front end of said base, reticle means carried by said rear end of said base, said means for attaching. said base to said bow including separate horizontally-disposed pivot means mounting said front and rear ends of said base, means. for adjusting said base, said last-named means comprising a single adjusting means for adjusting said' base vertically and simultaneously tilting said base on said pivot means, said front sight comprising a substantially vertically-disposed partially transparent reflector, means for reflecting an image of said reticle onto said reflector, a sight-setting indicator carried by said base between said front sight and said reticle, means operatively coupling said indicator to said adjusting means whereby to actuate said indicator simultaneously with the vertical adjustment of said base, and said indicator being forwardly directed and reflectable in said front sight.

3. A sight for an archers bow, comprising an elongated base having a front end and a rear end, a front sight and a reticle carried respectively by said front and rear ends of said base, a mount for said base, means for detachably connecting said mount to said bow, a shaft rotatable in said mount, a pair of spaced gears of unequal 'ratios fixed on said shaft, a pair of racks slidable in said mount, there being a rack in operative engagement with each gear, means for rotating said shaft in both directions, and means pivotally connecting each rack to an opposite end of said base whereby rotation of said shaft in either direction projects said racks unequally in like di-- rections.

4. A sight for an archers bow, comprising an elongated base having a front end and a rear end, a front sight and a reticle carried respectively by said front and rear ends of said base, a mount for said base, means for detachably connecting said mount to said bow, a substantially horizontally-disposed shaft rotatable in said mount, a pair of spaced gears of unequal ratios fixed on said shaft, a pair of substantially vertically-disposed racks slidable in said mount, there being a rack in operative engagement with each gear, means for rotating said shaft in both directions, and means pivotally connecting each rack to an opposite end of said base whereby rotation of said shaft in either direction projects said racks unequally in like directions.

5. A sight for an archers bow, comprising an elongated base having a front and a rear end, a front sight and a reticle carried respectively by said front and rear ends of said base, a mount for said base, means for detachably connecting said mount to said bow, a substantially horizontally-disposed shaft rotatable in said mount, a pair of spaced gears of unequal ratios fixed on said shaft, 2. pair of substantially vertically-disposed racks slidable in said mount, there being a rack in operative engagement with each gear, a third gear fixed on said shaft, a lever pivotally mounted in said mount, a reversible pawl carried by said lever and normally engaging said third gear to rotate said shaft in one direction, means for reversing said pawl to engage said third gear to rotate said shaft in the opposite direction, and means pivotally connecting each rack to an opposite end of said base whereby rotation of said shaft in either direction projects said racks unequally in like directions.

6. A sight for an archers bow, comprising an elongated base having a front and a rear end, a front sight and a reticle carried respectively by said front and rear ends of said base, a mount for said base, means for detachably connecting said mount to said bow, a pair of base-adjusting means carried by said mount, mount-carried rotatable means for simultaneously adjusting said base-adjusting means unequally in like vertical directions, means pivotally connecting one of said base-adjusting means to the front end of said base, and means pivotally connecting the 8 other of said base-adjusting means to said rear end of said base.

7. A sight for an archers bow, comprising an elongated base having a front end and a rear end, a front sight and a reticle carried respectively by said front and rear ends of said base, a mount for said base, means for detachably connecting said mount to said bow, a base-adjusting member carried by said mount, means pivotally connecting said member to said front end of said base, a second base-adjusting member carried by said mount, means pivotally connecting said second member to said rear end of said base, a rotatable means carried by said mount, means operatively connecting said rotatable means to both of said members, and said lastnamed means including means operative upon rotation of said rotatable means to adjust said first member vertically at a given ratio and simultaneously adjust said second member vertically in the same direction at a lesser ratio.

8. A sight for an archers bow, comprising an elongated base having a front end and a rear end, a front sight and a reticle carried respectively by said front and rear ends of said base, a mount for said base, means for detachably connecting said mount to said bow, a pair of base-adjusting means carried by said mount. mount-carried means for simultaneously adjusting said base-adjusting means unequally in like vertical directions, means pivotally connecting one of said base-adjusting means to said front end of said base, and means pivotally connecting the other of said base-adjusting means to said rear end of said base.

BERT E. FREDRICKSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the Germany Mar. 28, 1931 

